beglerifandomcom-20200215-history
AroundSquare
From their website: "Aroundsquare was incorporated as a company in 2007, shortly after the patenting of our first skill toy, Monkey Knuckles. AO2 was first introduced to begleri in 2014, and immediately took an interest. After becoming convinced of the potential of begleri as a skill toy, we undertook hands on research to figure it out for ourselves. At the time, there were no standards, no shared vocabulary, and no consensus on any of the main variables such as string length or bead specs. What existed, were a small assortment of individual experiments and short clips with one or two moves, posted across the internet. Through our involvement in other communities, we understood the importance of standards, and especially, a shared vocabulary, to enable players to share ideas and tricks with one another. While begleri looks simple, it is remarkably hard to talk about tricks without some basic agreements on terms. We identified several dimensions that needed naming, including the various positions for holding the begleri, the directions of motion, the planes of motion, as well as some basic "verbs" or terms to describe the types of motion. Language, we know, provides a kind of cognitive scaffolding that allows us to think abstractly, and in so doing, enables us to quickly move beyond the basic frustrations that come with each person having to figure things out for themselves. While we are very proud of our begleri, especially the Titans and the Hydras which themselves have become standards in the community, we are equally proud to see that this basic vocabulary took root, caught on, and has now taken on a life of its own as play continues to develop to increasing levels of sophistication that we could not have imagined even two years ago. Aroundsquare remains very active in the begleri community, helping to promote the toy as a pastime, creative outlet, and healthy or even therapeutic activity. AO2 and members of the AO2 Crew are highly active across all social media platforms, working hard to spread begleri love. In 2016, we organized the first ever worldwide online begleri contest, the 2016 Single Grip Open. We maintain the most comprehensive and viewed set of free begleri tutorials on the internet. And we work hard to advance the toy itself with innovative designs, and an increasingly wide range of models available for players at every skill level and almost every budget. Our latest bead design, the Everyman, which features compatibility with our Hardcore Gut System, provides an example of our commitment to clean, timeless design, and leading edge product innovation." Begleri Sets Released * Little Bosses * Wukongs * Titans * Titan OS * Hydras * Everymans * Everyman OS * Modern Standards * Mini Standards * Hardcore Gut System ** Microhydras ** Microstandards ** End Caps (a.k.a. "Tophats" or "Hats") ** Hercs * Full Metal Hercs * Curios * Hybrids * Mini Titans * Mini Hydras * "Hy-tops" Begleri Add-ons * Hardcore Gut System * Herc Rings Collaborations * Flytanium (Very Limited Edition) ** On February 18, 2017, AroundSquare dropped the Flytanium collaboration beads. These beads were titanium Titans and Hydras, anodized by Flytanium. There were approximately 12 sets of each model, all numbered and with unique anodization colorways. * Knifecenter "Grahamodization" (Limited Edition) ** There were unofficial "Grahamodized" beads available on Knifecenter's website, but these were not an official collaboration. ** On September 15, 2017, AroundSquare dropped titanium Everymans that were "Grahamodized" with a faded pattern. "Grahamodization" is the colloquial term for Knifecenter's anodization process, led by their in-house anodization expert, Graham Pehrson. * Terra Kendama (Limited Edition) ** The Curios were a collaboration with Terra Kendama, a popular kendama manufacturer and seller specializing in exotic hardwood skilltoys. These beads were hand-turned, came in 3 species of wood, and were limited to 50 sets each for the first run. See the Curios page for more details. * Bullseye Blades ** There was an Instagram post by AroundSquare with pictures of modded heavy-metal everyman sets. As of the time of this writing, no other details have been posted about this project. ** There is also another ongoing project with Bullseye Blades, that is believed to be the Hypes begleri, but nothing is confirmed as of yet. Category:Manufacturer/Maker Category:Sponsors